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We all know that fish oil is good for the brain, and fish is also a healthy part of any diet.  But did we ever think the fish eyes were good for anything? I guess some cultures might actually eat fish eyes, in fact I new a guy who would on a dare, but me personally it’s not something I would try.  Christchurch University has come across something that could benefit everyone, with the help of fish eyes. 

 

Reasearchers at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand are using discarded fish eyes to help develop sensors that will detect health problems in humans.  The aim is to keep the sensors cheap enough for everybody, and people could be them at the local pharmacy and use them to check for the early stages of illness such as cancer.  This would allow the person to get help quicker before the cancer became to dangerous.  

 

The university is the only one in the world able to manufacture protein nanofibres on a large scale, and the work aims to make New Zealand a world leader in bionanotechnology research.  

 

“The study of biological structures already found in nature can lead us to alternative methods to develop biosensors or other analytical devices from green nanofibres which can be used to detect sugar levels for diabetics, lactose [for dairy-intolerant people] and downstream indicators of diseases such as cancer,” Dr Luigi Sasso said.

 

Working at the university’s biomolecular interaction centre, he uses methods developed at the university to remove protein from fish heads that would otherwise end up in the rubbish bin.

 

He produces tiny nano-thin proteins that could be manipulated and used for research, and said the work was a step towards solving many health issues.

 

“In today’s world, where humans have abused and oppressed our natural environment for our purposes, I believe it is important to learn how to work together with the world we live in, especially when it comes to technological development.

 

“How great would it be if you could go down to the pharmacy, pick up a cheap and easy-to-use device to check your blood for early stages of cancer, and then toss it in the recycling bin when you’re done? It would allow people to be aware of their health issues way before they reach a dangerous level . . . in the end, more lives would be saved.”

 

The university said it had received more than $1 million to launch the project, which would be breaking barriers looking at nanofibres up to 10,000 times smaller than a strand of human hair.

 

Bionanotechnology expert Professor Juliet Gerrard said the Canterbury University group was the only one in the world able to manufacture protein nanofibres on a large scale.

 

Wow is about all I can say to this, and good on these guys for their efforts in their research.  It looks like fish is really good for us, and at least (eyes not included) it’s tasty.